JV boys learned team concept

Team posted three victories

By: John E. Powers
   
   Michael Forte didn’t need to be a veteran coach to quickly understand what his role was going to be as head coach of the Manville High School boys’ junior varsity basketball team.
   Forte, a U.S. History teacher at Manville High, guided his team to a 3-12 season, beating Sussex Tech twice and winning at South Hunterdon.
   The objective, Forte said, was to learn and blend players into a cohesive group that would appreciate the team concept. Both he and his young team did a lot of learning during the season.
   "I learned a lot under coach," said Forte, referring to varsity coach Larry Blasi. "He has a lot of experience."
   After opening the season with losses to Bound Brook (60-36), North Plainfield (62-23), North Warren (66-33) and Delaware Valley (56-19), the Mustangs prevailed for the first time with a 49-44 win at South Hunterdon Jan. 9, then a 62-41 win over Sussex Tech two days later. The Mustangs lost three in a row before beating Sussex Tech once again Jan. 23.
   Forte said that the primary objective for the team was to learn how to play team basketball.
   "We really concentrated on moving the ball and being patient," Forte said. "We also did the Loyola (Marymount University, up-tempo) style and we had a couple of press options."
   Forte, who grew up in Raritan Borough, jokes that he was "the basketball player" in a family known for its wrestling roots. His father, Joe, coached wrestling at Pingry and Middlesex, and is now an official. His uncle Rocky is the former athletic director at Hillsborough High School who also was head wrestling coach of the Raiders for several years. Mike Forte played basketball at Bridgewater-Raritan and Pingry.
   "I know the Skyland Conference from being at Bridgewater, so I knew the teams we played against," Forte said. "But I think our best game was our first one against South Hunterdon. We rallied to win it and our scoring was spread throughout the lineup."
   The Mustangs trailed in that game by nine at the half.
   "We passed the ball, we shared shots and we won on the road," Forte said. "It’s tough to be on the road for 40 minutes and play well. We passed the ball, we shared shots and we pressed well."
   Joe Burnett, Danny Pierrot and Pawel Maziarz were players who also played with the varsity during the season. Junior point guard Drew Evanylo was another who got varsity minutes. Forte said that he usually carried between 14 and 17 players.
   Sophomore guard Matt Zangara was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 142 points. Zangara had 17 in a 50-22 home loss to Somerville on Jan. 19. Sophomore forward Doug Bradley, who led the team in rebounds, scored 99 points. Freshmen Andrew Franco and Cesar Mora were contributors.
   Forte said the next step for the team will be to continue to keep in touch with the game. He said that he and assistant coach Marty Geiger are planning to make sure they work at it.
   "We’re hoping to get them in a summer league," Forte said. "We don’t have as many players as some of the other schools and we were also inexperienced compared to the others. We have to work on rebounding, team work, playing five-on-five. We also didn’t have a lot of shot selections, but a lot of the kids started in the eighth grade or middle school."
   Blasi recently said he wouldn’t be back as coach, so Forte hopes to keep the program on track before a new head coach is chosen.